In an announcement that can’t be labeled as anything other than shocking, former Auburn defensive end Big Kat Bryant has committed to the University of Central Florida. Once thought to be a heavy lean towards Oklahoma, Bryant didn’t make it in as a transfer mid semester and prolonged his commitment announcement for more than a month.
I truly believe that Bryant, a former 4-star defensive end in the 2017 recruiting class, wanted to play for Oklahoma but just couldn’t get all of the dots connected in order to land in Norman. Instead he’ll follow former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn to Central Florida. Malzahn was hired by the Knights to replace Josh Heupel.
Bryant would have been a natural fit to replace Ronnie Perkins in Alex Grinch’s defense but the Sooners aren’t necessarily empty along the defensive front. Isaiah Thomas had a spectacular 2020 season and would have most likely split reps with Bryant in the same way he did with Perkins. He’ll enter the 2021 season as the top edge rusher for the Sooners with Marcus Stripling and Reggie Grimes likely to earn significant reps as well.
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